Semiconductor fuse technology, sometimes called “e-fuse” technology, allows for post-fabrication hardware programming of integrated circuits. By analogy with a standard household fuse, a semiconductor fuse can be designed to permanently open circuit upon application of a programming current. By including numerous semiconductor fuses in an integrated circuit, on-chip modifications, one time programmable (OTP) memory, and/or circuit tuning functions can be provided. For example, using appropriate sensing circuits, a semiconductor fuse can represent a binary “1” when close circuited, and a binary “0” when open circuited.
As consumer demand continues to drive increased density and reduced critical dimensions of integrated circuits, fabrication processes may be modified to accommodate reduced critical dimensions. For instance, polycrystalline silicon transistor gates can be replaced with metal gates. In addition, transistors can be formed on three-dimensional fin structures to improve performance. Therefore, a need exists for semiconductor fuse technology that is compatible with processes used to fabricate high density integrated circuits.